Moozhikkal Pankajakshi

Moozhikkal Pankajakshi is a puppeteer and expert in Nokkuvidya pavakali, a form of puppetry. It is a century old traditional puppetry of Kerala. She was born in Pala, Kottayam district of Kerala on 14 March in 1936. She married Shivarama Panicker at the age of 20. She has three children named Vijayan, Radhamani and Shiva. She is famous as Amma. At the young age of 11, she first learned Nokkuvidya from her mother. The name of her mother is Paappiyamma. She got this skill as a gift from her parents. Her mother is also a puppeteer and master of Nokkuvidya. Pankajakshi often performed puppetry with songs written by her husband. She is the master performer of Nokkuvidya. She had to drop out of school due to financial difficulties.

After which she shifted her focus to puppetry. Her ancestors were also puppeteers. Their art recieved recognition from the kings of Travancore. She sees Nokkuvidya as a great form of art which can easily comprehend even by ordinary people. She gives credit of her success to her husband who has played an essential role in making her a renowned artist. Her husband has written songs for her and made puppets as well. He mainly wrote songs on Ramayana and Mahabharata. Pankajakshi performed this traditional form of puppetry in Kerala and outside of Kerala. There is a documentary on her life called 'Nokkuvidya, The Life of a lone string puppeteer' by Reshmi Radhakrishnan.

It was presented at the Kerala International Documentary and Short Film Festival. She is honoured with various awards for immeasurable contribution in Nokkuvidya. She performed Nokkuvidya for over 60 years but stopped it due to her declining age. In 2012, the Kolkata Folklore Academy awarded her with a fellowship. In 2020, she is awarded with Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award. She also taught this art form to her granddaughter. Her granddaughter also does shows of Nokkuvidya and is following her grandmother's footsteps.